Viking Law and Order
Places and Rituals of Assembly in the Medieval North
The first detailed appraisal of Norse assembly sites, providing detailed discussion of their archaeological profile and landscape setting
- Uses archaeological evidence, written sources and place-names to provide readers with a thorough understanding of the archaeology of Norse assembly sites
- Includes case studies from across Scandinavia, Scotland and the North Atlantic
- Explores the symbolic meaning of assembly sites
- Provides an interdisciplinary framework for future archaeological study of these sites
- Listen to Alex Sanmark discuss 'Thingvellir and Viking Assembly Sites' on The History of Vikings podcast.
Until very recently Viking and Norse assembly sites were essentially unknown, apart from a few select sites, such as Thingvellir in Iceland. The Vikings are well-known for their violence and pillage, but they also had a well-organised system for political decision-making, legal cases and conflict resolution. Using archaeological evidence, written sources and place-names, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of their legal system and assembly sites, showing that this formed an integral part of Norse culture and identity, to the extent that the assembly institution was brought to all Norse settlements.
Sites are analysed through surveys and case studies across Scandinavia, Scotland and the North Atlantic region. The author moves the view of assembly sites away from a functional one to an understanding of the symbolic meaning of these highly ritualised sites, and shows how they were constructed to signify power through monuments and natural features. This original and stimulating study is set not only in the context of the Viking and Norse periods, but also in the wider continental histories of place, assembly and the rhetoric of power.
List of Tables
Abbreviations
Acknowledgement
Preface 1. Assembly Research: Past and Present2. Early Germanic and Norse Assembly Organisations3. Introducing the Assembly Sites of Scandinavia 4. Elite Rituals at Scandinavian Assemblies 5. Assembly Sites in Scandinavia: Activities and Rituals of the Community 6. Centralisation of Power: Christianity and Urbanisation 7. Norse in the North Atlantic: Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland 8. Norse in Scotland: Assembly and New Ancestors 9. Assemblies in the Longue Durée Glossary
Bibliography
Index
This is an impressive work of true scholarship, multidisciplinary in its handling of archaeological, geographical, linguistic and much later written material, and representing a real advance in academic understanding.
Sanmark is establishing a new paradigm on the Norse thing-system, wherein she paves a new way for an understanding of the sagas as necessary historical accounts.
This is a study which has been long needed, and it fills a big gap in our bibliographies of the Viking Age and of Norse culture… an excellent book on the thing sites of Scandinavia and the role of the assemblies in the lives of medieval communities.
A useful addition to any Viking library.
Diligently researched and well-written…Sanmark examines diverse examples of assembly sites, blending the discussion of archaeological data with that of textual evidence and place names; this is all supported by numerous informative, high-quality maps and photographs…highly recommended as a thought-provoking and valuable addition to any early medievalist’s bookshelf.
Diligently researched and well-written…Sanmark examines diverse examples of assembly sites, blending the discussion of archaeological data with that of textual evidence and place names; this is all supported by numerous informative, high-quality maps and photographs…highly recommended as a thought-provoking and valuable addition to any early medievalist’s bookshelf.
